Swedish hotel landlord Pandox has forecast a steady performance for its properties through 2026, as it reported on a transformative full year 2025.
During the final quarter of 2025, revenue from leased hotels was up 22% year on year, while revenues from own operations were down 3%. Excluding extraordinary costs due to the Dalata acquisition, ebitda was up 22%. The addition of Dalata took the group to 192 hotels with around 42,500 rooms across 11 European countries. Combined, the portfolio is now reckoned to have a market value of SEK90 billion.
Acquisition of Dalata Hotels
For Pandox, 2025 will long stand out as a year when the company shifted up a gear. The company teamed up with a financial partner, Eiendomsspar, to make a daring EUR1.4 billion takeover bid for Irish hotel group Dalata. The successful bid took the previously listed Dalata private, at a stroke adding 56 new operating properties to the Pandox portfolio, plus two significant mid market hotel brands, Clayton and Maldron.
The takeover bid lined up Scandinavian operator Scandic to take on the operational side of the Dalata business. Pandox took the owned hotel assets into its portfolio, adding a net 31 operating hotels, and one upcoming development, the Clayton Hotel in Edinburgh.
“The acquisition of Dalata is a historic milestone for us and consolidates our position as Europe’s leading hotel property owner,” said Pandox CEO Liia Nou. “This acquisition is expected to increase rental income by SEK 1,145 million, net operating income by SEK 1,115 million and cash earnings by SEK 430 million on an annual basis.”
Pandox continued to actively manage its portfolio of hotels, which are spread across Europe and mostly leased to operators who manage them under international brands. During 2025, the company sold the Crowne Plaza in Antwerp. In Kiruna, Sweden the company bought the Elite Hotel Frost, a newly constructed 154 room property which was sold by the local municipality. And in Cologne, Germany, Pandox completed the acquisition of the Hotel Pullman. The 275 room property arrived into the portfolio with AccorInvest as the tenant.
Nou declared herself confident of the market into 2026: “Gradually improving macroeconomic development – with decreasing inflation, stable interest rates and accelerated economic growth – is creating the conditions for growth in the hotel market. Hotel demand is expected to remain good in 2026, driven by increased leisure, business and meeting demand.”
A Process of Continuous Improvement
Elsewhere in its portfolio, Pandox continues to enhance its properties, as opportunities present. In Brussels, redevelopment of a Crowne Plaza will deliver an expanded hotel with 151 rooms, destined for branding as the DoubleTree by Hilton Brussels City. Local architects Bouwmeester maître are leading on the project, which will complete by mid 2027.
In Glasgow, the company has been refurbishing the Radisson Blu hotel. Public spaces have been enhanced, with more lift capacity added at the 247 room property, with all guest rooms refurbished.
